[Sexual Dysfunction in Primary Health Care]

Sexual Dysfunction in Primary Health Care Abstract. In primary health care, sexual dysfunctions are usually only insufficiently recorded. At the same time, these disorders are relatively common and often remain untreated. This study investigated sexual dysfunction and how it is influenced by lifestyle in patients in a general practitioner's practice (HP).

A sample of HP patients was asked about their sexuality, psychosocial situation and lifestyle, using validated questionnaires.

The sample consisted of 30 women and 37 men. Of these, about two thirds have never spoken to a physician about their sex life and more than four fifths have never been asked about it by a phyisican. In 75 % of the sample there was no evidence of sexual dysfunction. Men with questionnaire values indicating sexual dysfunction showed significantly higher psychological stress than those with inconspicuous values.

Despite an inconspicuous anamnesis regarding risk factors of sexual dysfunction, about a quarter of the sample found evidence of sexual dysfunction. An inconspicuous anamnesis in the areas of alcohol/tobacco consumption and depression does not make a targeted questioning about sexual dysfunction superfluous. Particularly for men, acute psychological stress should be a sufficient reason to address the topic of sexuality and to deepen it if necessary.